Michigan survives Syracuse thanks to 'absolute monster' McGary

Apr. 7, 2013
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Michigan Wolverines guard Tim Hardaway Jr. (10) hugs guard Trey Burke (3) in the second half of the semifinals during the 2013 NCAA mens Final Four against the Syracuse Orange at the Georgia Dome. / Bob Donnan, USA TODAY Sports

by Nicole Auerbach, USA TODAY Sports

by Nicole Auerbach, USA TODAY Sports

ATLANTA - His son's face filled the enormous video board, and his son's voice boomed throughout the still-buzzing Georgia Dome.

Mitch McGary's father, Tim, teetered back and forth, beaming with pride and still shaking with nerves as he watched his son finish a postgame on-court interview after securing a spot in the national title game. McGary had just scored 10 points, pulled down 12 rebounds and dished out a team-best six assists. He'd made shots from the high post and the block.

He'd done it all â?? posting his third double-double in four games â?? and led Michigan past Syracuse 61-56 Saturday night. The Wolverines will face No. 1 overall seed Louisville with a national championship on the line on Monday.

During the past month, there may not be a more integral player to his team's success than McGary. He's an "animal," according to guard Spike Albrecht. An "absolute monster," says his longtime friend and former Michigan captain Zack Novak.

McGary didn't go from being a 15-minute-a-game bench player to MVP overnight. It took a commitment to fitness, a stricter diet and cleaning up his fundamentals.

"He's just now coming into his own," his father Tim told USA TODAY Sports. "Don't tell him he can't do something, because he's going to do it. He's so stubborn.

"He's worked so hard for this. So hard."

McGary spent a postgraduate year at Brewster (N.H.) Academy, at which time the kid from Chesterton, Ind., finally opened some eyes and showed glimpses of the kind of talent that could carry a team through the NCAA tournament. Though he arrived in Ann Arbor one of the nation's most highly touted recruits, McGary did not make an immediate impact. He came off the bench and played limited minutes. He didn't score much and often faced foul trouble. His first start wasn't until Feb. 12.

The origin of McGary's meteoric rise â?? which has helped his NBA prospects skyrocket â?? is hard to pinpoint, Michigan coaches said.

"The fire's always been burning," head coach John Beilein said. "There's always been something there. He's made these incremental steps all year long."

Some things haven't changed. His mother's text messages, for one. Hey buddy, Good luck. Kick butt. The message came every game day. But the kicking butt part hasn't happened until recently.

He's averaging 16 points and 11.6 rebounds a game during the NCAA tournament, and that includes an impressive stat line (25 points, 14 boards) against one of the nation's best frontcourt players in Jeff Withey at Kansas.

Against Syracuse on Saturday night, McGary was the key to breaking the vaunted Orange 2-3 zone. His versatility and ability to hit mid-range jumpers allowed Michigan to move the ball inside and out with ease. The Wolverines could find an open perimeter shooter â?? a task which, for half the game, fell to freshman backup guards Spike Albrecht and Caris LeVert who hit four threes in the first half â?? or rely on McGary to knock down the shot or drive. His six assists outnumbered national player of the year Trey Burke's, an astounding stat that shocked Michigan assistant coach Bacari Alexander.

"Did you ever think Mitch McGary would lead us in assists over Trey Burke," Alexander said. "That's a maturation of Mitch McGary. â?¦ (He) has shown a terrific pace of play," Alexander said. "He's playing much more under control. His vision and his footwork have been significantly cleaned up, and he's able to make cleaner plays."

That includes finding teammates on the fastbreak as well as distributing the ball from the high post. Or the occasional dribbling up the court. And blocking a shot or two.

The game's final 60 seconds ticked off the clock in slow-motion, players said, particularly when a James Southerland 3-pointer got the Orange within one point with 41 seconds left in the game. Josh Bartelstein, the team's senior walk-on and captain, said the final minute took forever watching from the bench. Players watched four free-throw attempts clang off the rim in that minute, with each miss giving Syracuse new life.

When McGary, who'd done a great deal of the team's heavy lifting all evening, couldn't do everything â?? he missed two of those freebies â?? redshirt junior forward Jordan Morgan stepped in to finish the job. Morgan drew a charge from Syracuse's Brandon Triche with 19 seconds left that sealed Michigan's victory, and he punctuated the win with a slam dunk in the game's waning moments. The win marked Beilein's first against Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, against whom he'd been 0-for-9 in his career entering Saturday.

Now, for the first time in quite some time, Michigan's frontcourt play(er) is getting attention. Florida players didn't realize how dominant McGary has become, and they paid dearly for that. Syracuse didn't watch tape of Michigan and thought the Orange zone was impenetrable for anyone.

All season, Beilein's had excellent perimeter shooters and terrific ballhandling. Now, he's got a threat down low, which adds a final dimension to an already potent offense. Opponents haven't quite realized that this is the final piece of a national championship-caliber team fitting into place.

"I think (it is)," said Novak, who has known McGary since McGary was 10 and helped recruit McGary to Michigan. "You ask the coaches back in the beginning of the season, they said, 'Mitch McGary's got to get going if we're going to make a run.'